BENTON -- With Russellville placing an emphasis on stopping Benton senior guard Jai Peters, teammate Evan Sims found himself all alone under the basket -- numerous times.
Peters and Sims combined for 35 points and the Panthers survived the Cyclones' three-point shooting for a 60-54 overtime victory in the opening round of the 6A-West Conference Tournament.
Sims, a 6-5 senior forward, connected on six point-blank field-goal attempts on his way to a 15-point effort to help send the Panthers to Tuesday's home semifinal game against either Sheridan or Texarkana.
Peters, who was held to six points through the first three quarters, scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and four more in overtime.
"Teams will try to play a box-and-one or some junk defenses against [Peters] to slow him down, but I thought we did a good job of finding him," Benton Coach Dexter Hendrix said. "But give Evan credit, too. He runs the court really, really hard to get into position. But not only do you have to get into position, you've got to finish. And he did a good job of finishing."
Sims put in his final wide-open layup with 24 seconds remaining in overtime to give Benton a 57-54 lead.
"They would double- and triple-team Jai and leave me open," Sims said. "That was a big surprise to me."
Russellville (9-18) trailed 34-26 with 3:52 remaining in the third quarter, but the Cyclones began firing their long-range volleys, hitting 7 of their final 10 three-pointers.
"That's the way we play," said Russellville Coach Matt Hall, whose team will play an elimination game Tuesday. "We've played that way all year. Our guys are used to it."
Senior guard Ryan Talley led the Cyclones with 13 points, 12 of which came on three-pointers in the game's final 13 minutes. Sophomore Spencer Terry added 3 three-pointers, all of which came in the second half. Neither Talley or Terry were starters.
"That's a credit to their depth," Hendrix said. "They play a lot of kids, and I thought they were fresh in the second half. It seems like that rim just kept getting bigger and bigger, and they shot the ball really, really well."
The game was tied at 51-51 at the end of regulation but Peters hit a 15-footer 15 seconds into the overtime to put Benton on top for good. Russellville did have a chance to regain the lead with a three-pointer in the final 30 seconds, but Peters picked up a steal and eventually found Sims open under the goal.
Benton finished 24 of 40 from the floor while Russellville was 18 of 42. Benton outrebounded Russellville 27-25.
RUSSELLVILLE (54)
White 1 0-0 2, George 1 0-2 2, Mathis 1 4-4 6, Shaffer 3 0-0 7, Adkins 2 3-4 7, Talley 4 1-2 13, Bucher 0 0-0 0, Sitkowski 3 2-2 8, Terry 3 0-0 9. Totals 18 10-14 54.
BENTON (60)
Peters 8 4-5 20, Croft 2 3-4 7, Sims 7 1-2 15, Cates 4 0-1 10, Oulch 3 0-4 7, Shelnut 0 0-0 0, McClendon 0 1-2 1. Totals 24 9-18 60.
Russellville (9-18);13; 9;15;14;3 -- 54
Benton (18-9);13;14;10;14;9 -- 60
Three-point goals -- Russellville 8 (Talley 4, Terry 3, Shaffer); Benton 3 (Cates 2, Oulch). Team fouls -- Russellville 18, Benton 10.
Sports on 02/18/2018